Troubleshooting
The FirstStrike team is continually evolving the mod by adding content and correcting reported bugs. However, the majority of problems can be easily solved by the users themselves, on their own computers. The following describes the most common problems and glitches that FirstStrike users have reported, and the recommended solutions to each. This is not meant to be a complete list of all known issues and solutions, but this troubleshooting guide can help users solve most of them. First Troubleshooting Step Make sure you are running Battlefield 2142 version 1.51, and the First Strike Launcher. These are the latest stable releases of the programs. Using any other versions will result in unpredictable behavior, unmodified content error and game crashes. Please see Mod Requirements and Installation Instructions for details on where to download the correct versions. CTDs (Crash To Desktop) The game can crash for a variety of reasons, but here are most common causes (and their solutions). Crash on game start Try to delete your profile from the \Documents and Settings\Username\My Documents\Battlefield 2142\Profiles\ directory (i.e. I deleted the 0001 and Default folders), and that should let you to restart the game. Might be related to BF2142 not being able to change the screen to 60hz, check if original BF2142 works. If it does, delete the folder "My Documents\Battlefield 2142" and try starting the game again. Otherwise, uninstall BF2142 and make sure its program folder is completely deleted (usually found at "C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\" - though it may differ for some users), and then reinstall it. Crash when loading level Verify that the video setting for View Distance is set to 100%! If this adversely affects game performance, please lower a different video option to compensate. If you still experience a crash, it is possible that FirstStrike is corrupted. Uninstall FirstStrike and then reinstall it. Mouse Pointer Dissapears: This is caused by not having BF2142 patched up to the latest version. CRASH WHEN USING SOME VEHICLES There have been reports of game lock ups when using some vehicles, particularly the AT-ST. The symptoms are game freezing, with a constant looping of recent sound. No game response, and user may have to alt tab or ctrl-alt-del to bring up task manager and halt the game. This seems to be a compatibility issue between some soundcard hardware. To fix this, in the game options menu disable audio hardware and set it to software, then disable EAX. MAPS NOT LOADING, STOPPING AROUND 60% 1) Go to your BF2142 folder, eg C:Program FilesElectronic ArtsBattlefield 2142 2) Locate the file "radial.cdb" If you do not see this file in the folder then you need to go to folder options tell Windows to show hidden files. You also (or instead) have to uncheck the box just a little bit below it, which is "Hide protected operating system files". (For some reason this is a protected file and will not show if you ask to show normal hidden files.) 3) Rename the file to oldradial.cdb (or something similar so you know what it is) and start your game. The game will create a new radial.cdb file on it's own. Laggy Gameplay \ Unusually Black Graphics Regardless of your other settings, make sure your View Distance setting is at 100%. This has solved many reported display glitches for FirstStrike players. You may also need to clear your mod cache. Go to "My Documents\Battlefield 2142\mods\FirstStrike\cache\" and delete all the files/folders inside there. Restart your PC, and check if the game performs more smoothly. Error Messages "Punkbuster error" This is not a FirstStrike error, but is commonly seen when Punkbuster (the anti-cheat shield included with Battlefield 2142) becomes too outdated. You need to manually update your Punkbuster to the latest version. For information on how to do this, please visit the following link: http://www.evenbalance.com/index.php?page=pbsetup.php It is also possible that the PunkBuster service has been corrupted on your system. Uninstall Punkbuster and then reinstall it. This can be done with the PBSVC Setup program, available at the following link: http://www.evenbalance.com/index.php?page=pbsvcfaq.php "Shaders/StaticMesh.fx not found" A large number of people have reported this issue, and until the exact cause is tracked down, here are 3 potential fixes to help users correct it. #'Check the First Strike Mod shortcut.' Right-click on the FirstStrike desktop shortcut, select Properties, and go to the Shortcut tab. Check your 'target' path, by default it should say this... "C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Battlefield 2142\BF2142Launcher.exe" +modPath mods/FirstStrike +menu 1 +fullscreen 1 If it does not, please copy and paste the above line into your 'target' box. Then make sure the 'start in' section says this... "C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Battlefield 2142" If it does not, please copy and paste the above line into your 'start in' box. NOTE: 'If you have a different BF2142 install directory then the above lines will not work. Find the directory in which you installed BF2142 and use that path instead. For example, "D:\Electronic Arts\Battlefield 2142\BF2142Launcher.exe" +modPath mods/FirstStrike +menu 1 +fullscreen 1 for 'target' and "D:\Electronic Arts\Battlefield 2142" for 'start in'}} #'Activate the First Strike Mod manually. If suggestion #1 does not work, try running regular Battlefield 2142, go to its Community tab, and activate the mod from there. This has also been known to work. #'Reinstall with a different Mod folder order.' Uninstall the FirstStrike mod and reinstall. However, when it asks where to install the mod, add "mods\" to the end of the install path. It should look something like... C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Battlefield 2142\mods\ Once FirstStrike is installed, start up the mod. It will ask where the Battlefield program (typically BF2142.exe) is located. Click Browse and find it. The game will start and then crash, but don't worry, we are halfway to fixing it. Next, go open the mods folder (the directory you had FirstStrike install into). You should see a subfolder titled FirstStrike and another one titled mods. Go into this second mods folder, where you'll find another FirstStrike folder. Cut everything inside that second FirstStrike folder (done by going to the folder's Edit menu, and clicking Select All and then Cut). Go back out and paste everything into the first FirstStrike folder, located in the first mods folder. Delete the (now-empty) second mods folder. Click on the First Strike Mod shortcut to start the game. First Strike and Windows Vista\8\7\10 First Strike and Battlefield 2142 were built and optimized for Windows XP Service Pack 2. First Strike players that wish to use Vista+ should be aware that there may be serious issues encountered that are not normally encountered on Windows XP machines. If you are experiencing issues in First Strike: - Battlefield 2142 and First Strike must run in administrative mode allow game play. Right click on the launcher icon for either FS or 2142 and click "Run as Administrator" (note: this will require authentication from User Account Control) - Try running the game with a different user account - Try running the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP. Right click on the launcher icon, click "Properties", Click the "Compatibility" tab, and check the box under "Compatibility mode" to enable the Windows XP compatibility mode. (Note: Users of the DVD version of 2142 may encounter No-disc errors) - Try reinstalling Battlefield 2142 and First Strike. "You Have A Newer Version" error when patching BF2142 That problem is 90% of the time caused by installing patches in the wrong order. If you try to install 1.51 without 1.5 installed, it will throw up the "You have a newer version" error. Installing patches in the right order is the solution. At least in my experience. For reference, however, if you do have this issue, YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. The BlackIntel Downloads Page has all of the correct patches for BF2142 and First Strike. Make sure you have the correct version BEFORE commencing any edits. Open registry edit (in Vista or newer, type "regedit" into the start menu search. In XP, type "regedit" into the "Run" prompt. Navigate to the following location: For 64bit Windows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2142 For 32bit Windows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Electronic Arts\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2142 Right click on "Version", modify and set it to 1.50. Click OK, exit regedit, and try patching again. "This server only allows unmodified content." Full error usually states "This server only allows unmodified content. Please return to the official version of Battlefield 2142.". This message appears when your version of FirstStrike does not match the server's version. If you are not running the latest version of FirstStrike, please download the latest patch at FirstStrikeMod.com. If your FirstStrike is up-to-date, then most likely the server is using an outdated version; until they update, please try a different server. Missing Voice Commands If you do not hear the voice commands ("Enemy Spotted", "Need Medic", "Need Ammo" etc.), make sure that you do not have "ENGLISH VOICES ONLY" setting selected in your Audio Options. Turn this off and you will again start hearing voices in your head. =) Still Having Trouble? If you need further help, feel free to post at the official support forums; there, the FirstStrike team and other veteran players will be happy to assist you as best they can. You can also search for previous error reports and their solutions. Client Support Forum http://www.fsmod.com/fsforums/viewforum.php?id=21 Server Support Forum http://www.fsmod.com/fsforums/viewforum.php?id=63 Don't forget to check FSMod.com regularly for the latest news and hotfix updates. Category:General Information